Review: Better with Sugar (Cranefly Romance #1) by Katrina Kirkpatrick
Contemporary Romance (Military)
Released: March 24, 2015
Self-Pub

Reviewed by Sheena

War veteran Ethan Quill’s horse doesn’t like people. And that’s okay because neither does he. Broken by their pasts and shunned by the community, they keep to themselves on Ethan’s rundown farm. And then along comes a brown-eyed baker who turns their world upside down.
Heiress by birth, optimist by heart, Elly Baptiste has left Manhattan behind and picked up her spatula in Cranefly, a quaint Adirondack town. She’s looking for love and finds the promise of something unexpectedly delicious with the local recluse. But how does a woman who’s running from life find happily ever with a man who’s hiding from it?
Elly knows sugar. Ethan knows war.  She knows sweet.  He knows defeat.E
When put to the test, can they prove that love and life really are better with sugar?

Favorite Quote: “Did you bring me another thirty-pack?  Noah folded his arms and kicked the bundle of socks a little closer.  “It’s downstairs.  And I bought you a toothbrush and tooth paste.  You ought to try using them sometime.”

I am absolutely not partial to confectionery romance.  I stand before you a scarred reviewer who has been traumatized by past experiences with foody, sweet cakes themed book.  I got minor hives when I saw this cover but the blurb gave me pause.  War veteran, broken by his hellish past meets heart of gold, oozing optimism new-in-town-girl-next-door baker.  They are polar opposites and I was intrigued to say the least.  I am exceptionally glad I gave this romance novel a chance.  Better with Sugar is a very emotional novel.   Fantastic characters, and thankfully no throw-away plot sequences or “filler” characters doing pointless stuff. Each character’s page time, left little crumbs that you desperately want to follow to see what exactly is going on in their own lives. Furthermore, the respect the author has for veterans and the PTSD process shines through.  Ethan was surrounded by darkness though light surrounded him. He was so deep into his own bag that even that light began to dim around him as a result of his mania.  His brother, Noah, is dedicated to a fault and protective of his spiraling brother I loved their bond and found I was totally #TeamNoah for a slew of reasons, the clincher for me, was each time he tried to pull Ethan from the brink, armed with the knowledge that it could all be for naught- but plowing through anyway. It takes true fortitude to tough love someone out of their bullshit.  The character who demanded my affections and at times shoved himself into the hero role was Ethan’s horse Jumpin’ Jack. This was no ordinary horse.  Jack was huge and wild, and just as ornery as his owner.  As a matter of fact, had Jack not been acting out and terrorizing good Noah’s sensibilities, he (nor Ethan) would have come barreling (quite literally) into Elly’s life.

A heavy rhythmic pounding grew louder, overtaking the puffs of her labored breathing. Absently, she pressed two fingers into her wrist.  If not her heart beat, then what?

A wall of fur skidded to a stop in front of her.  Elly slammed into it so hard that she bounced off backwards and onto her butt, barely catching herself in time to keep from rolling back down the hill…When she was able, she pressed her stinging palms together and stared up at the heaving sides of a large spotted horse.

Of course it was a horse.

Horses hated her.

She hated horses.

And thus began the second best relationship of the novel.  Jumpin’ Jack and Elly forged a beautiful bond.  She was the only person in town not scared shitless that he would trample her into a mud hole and for that I believe Jack instantly took a liking to her, which in turn forced Ethan to really see Elly and damn is she worthy to be seen.  Kind, sweet, and a genuinely good woman.  Not perfect and not trying to be.  Is the best she that she can be and I loved reading her voice.  Acceptance and fighting demons armed with perseverance and unconditional love were a resounding theme in this novel.  Finding the strength to love someone else, even when you are struggling to love yourself is heartbreaking and Ethan’s struggle with his PTSD and wanting to be the man Elly deserves and his ability  to believe that Elly would want him, even if he never got better was an emotional minefield.  I can’t think of a time where I rooted harder for a man to overcome the shackles in his own psyche.

“There is just one more thing that you have to know.”

The vulnerability that hedged at the edge of his mouth nearly broke her.  She knew what he was going to say and cold rippled through her.  He must have felt something of it because his hand tightened on hers.

“Despite you, despite everything. I might be like this forever.”

She wished he’d take it back.  She wished he hadn’t even spoken it out loud, as if by saying it, he’d somehow given it power.

“I’d very much hope not.”

“It’s likely, Elly”

“There’s always hope, Ethan.”

Sigh!!  There was a bit of danger, but it did not distract from the plot at all.  Things got a little off track  towards the end, but it barely registered as the first three-quarters were so engaging and meaty that I took the wonky resolution in stride.  Better with Sugar also has a cute epilogue that I loved because I can never get enough of glimpses into the future after the HEA!  This is the first book in the Cranefly series, though from further research, I gleaned that each book will read as a stand alone with tie ins, so that is grrreeeat news!

I know you are wondering, is there any heat? Is it all PTSD and no play, thus making Ethan a very mad, mad boy??   Yes!  Our Ethan rouses from a years long self-imposed sex drought and lucky for Elly, he came to play!

He shoved into her, his body moving hard and fast.  She knew he wouldn’t last long, and she didn’t care.  She wanted him to do it however he needed it this time.

He worked hard against her, more tortured than pleasured.  Elly opened her hips as much as she could, letting him get as deep as he needed.  He threw his head back with a whimper, but still he ground into her.  She brought her nails down his chest and he barked out her name in a broken voice.

His eyes opened into the golden dawn filled room and the morning sun wrapped around both their bodies.  He made no sound as he came, only the grimace of a man dying.

But Elly knew they’d just brought him back to life.

Welcome back Ethan!  His story was not easy and he barely made it out alive, but it was well worth the journey.  A slow burn between the two, before they gave way to their passions.  Well crafted and thought provoking.  I recommend it to anyone who loves a good romance novel.

Grade: B+

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